Canadian HR Reporter - Sample Issue

CANADIAN HR REPORTER May 1, 2017 10 NEWS HOW HR PROFESSIONALS SAY THE TOUGH THINGS REGISTER ONLINE: www.cpdcentre.ca/hrreporter For more Live and On-demand Webinars, visit us online. DATE: May 3, 2017 LIVE WEBINAR TIME: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET PRESENTER: Marion Grobb Finkelstein | Workplace Communication Consultant HIGHLIGHTS: • What types of critical conversations get you most stressed • Your default response • Trademarked step-by-step system for deciding to speak up or step away • Doing it with confi dence When Merlo and a group of other RCMP women went public with harassment claims while still on the force, social media mem- bers retaliated, she said. "Those comments, plus the ones we dealt with at work — they just bring you down and down and down until, finally, you just can't deal with it anymore." After Merlo wrote the RCMP commissioner in 2007, her su- pervisors attempted to force her out of the division. e stress of leaving her husband and chil- dren behind, and managerial disdain, made Merlo physically sick. Suffering from depression and insomnia, her sick days to- tal jumped considerably. She has since been diagnosed with PTSD. It took Merlo years to get a re- sponse from the commissioner. "After thoroughly investigat- ing themselves, the RCMP came back in 2010 and said that my complaints were unfounded," she said. "Nobody substantiated any- thing I said." After two decades of near-daily sexual harassment and bullying by her managers in Nanaimo, B.C., Merlo left the RCMP in 2010. In her exit letter, she expressed hope that the RCMP's disgraceful treat- ment of women would one day become public knowledge. Two years later, she launched a class action against her former employer. Since then, the lawsuit has swelled to include nearly 1,000 female officers, and was settled last fall with a $100-million price tag and national apology from the RCMP commissioner. On May 24, the federal court is expected to approve that agree- ment, she said. While the majority of RCMP members she worked with were honourable, a small but potent minority was prone to harass- ment, said Merlo. "at small group of people can affect the whole organization if it's not dealt with," she said. "Other organizations can learn from where the RCMP has failed." Expert panel weighs in Recent high-profile cases of sex- ual harassment such as those in- volving the RCMP or former CBC host Jian Ghomeshi have raised social consciousness of the issue in Canada, specifically its perva- siveness within the workplace set- ting, according to an expert panel at the conference. Members included employ- ment lawyer Janice Rubin of Rubin omlinson in Toronto — who conducted the independent work- place investigation of Ghomeshi, Rear-Admiral Jennifer Bennett, director general of the Canadian Armed Forces strategic response team on sexual misconduct, and Sandy Welsh, a University of To- ronto sociology professor special- izing in workplace harassment. Too many employers choose to believe sexual harassment doesn't occur at their establishment, said Rubin. Yet, 2014 research revealed 30 per cent of Canadian women have been subject to this type of harassment in the last two years. "We think it's been solved," she said. "It's 2017. Justin Trudeau is the prime minister. It's all fabu- lous… But it's not. It's a persistent, profound workplace problem that has not gone away. We have a na- tional crisis of sexual harassment where a large number of people are going to work and experienc- ing these workplace conditions." "Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination for women," said Rubin. "It is a constant, serious impediment to full equality in the workplace — full stop. We are beginning, as a country, to come to an appreciation that sexual ha- rassment isn't just one bad apple. In many organizations, sadly to say, it is institutionalized, it is cul- turalized, and the whole bushel is toxic." Certain sectors are more sus- ceptible to harassment — espe- cially workplaces where there is gender imbalance, said Welsh. "Sexual harassment is more likely to occur in places where there is a lot of interpersonal com- petition, a lot of competition for jobs, and places where there is job insecurity." Troubles lurk where male dom- ination is deeply rooted as it often leads to a permissive bullying cul- ture, said Bennett. "As we've seen with police forc- es or with firefighting, with the military or RCMP, where there's a feeling that people are unwel- come, that does set up for that situation," she said. Laissez-faire attitudes toward harassment aren't helpful, said Bennett. Colleagues need to be corrected for inappropriate com- ments or derogatory jokes. Too many Canadians still think that type of behaviour is normal — "boys being boys." Others don't speak up because they blame themselves or believe they can solve the situation on their own. Many victims of sexual ha- rassment still do not report, said Welsh. Additionally, bystanders do not feel empowered to inter- vene. For many workers, prob- lems of this nature occur during their first job or internship, and they choose not to report for fear of losing their position or not be- ing believed. "It shows the difficulty that people have coming forward and the things that we have to keep in mind when someone does come forward to report," she said, not- ing a formal report isn't always required to acknowledge harass- ment. "ey may have said, 'I don't like this' or 'No' in a lot of different ways." "What we need to be doing in our workplaces is having the kind of training where people learn how they can intervene," said Welsh. "People don't necessarily know what to do or how to stop a conversation." And as the workplace evolves, employers could soon be con- fronted with problems regarding remote workers, said Bennett. "As people now telecommute and spend less time in the office, (employers) could be confronted with problems regarding remote workers," she said. "You're going to have that silent and anonymous type of harassment that is very insidious, but occurs out of sight of those who may be watching or patrolling." Challenges in implementing change In the fall of 2016, the Ontario government passed Bill 132 — An Act to amend various statutes with respect to sexual violence, sexual harassment, domestic vio- lence and related matters. It amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act, imposing additional obligations on employ- ers with respect to harassment policies, programs and investiga- tions, including the mandatory development of a workplace ha- rassment program, an obligation for employers to protect workers with appropriate investigations, as well as the potential of an in- dependent workplace harassment investigation at the employer's expense. Changing behaviour in cultures where harassment is deeply em- bedded is tough, said Bennett, and often requires a generational shift. "Whenever you are faced with this dilemma, there is always a sense of urgency and immediacy in responses," she said, noting public institutions are specifically held to a higher account. "ere is a great deal of disgrace and disgust and people want an immediate re- action, so one of the challenges is managing the expectations of the response rate." "We are having to implement change to build the airplane while we're flying it, and under a great deal of scrutiny and public pres- sure," said Bennett. Because many employees still don't understand what is ap- propriate workplace behaviour versus what constitutes sexual harassment, the topic needs to be addressed under the category of violence in the workplace, using terminology people are familiar with, she said. "is is not acceptable in any sector of society," said Bennett. "Not all harassment is obvious. It can be very subtle and covert. So every employer, regardless of size, needs to look at every level of their organization and increase awareness. It can't just be the lead- ers saying, 'Stop.' e first step to- wards recovery is admitting you have a problem, and that is the most difficult." An all-encompassing system- type approach is required, rather than a one-and-done type of learning, she said. Awareness and understanding should be sought first, followed by a response plan, support plan and prevention mechanisms. "e work is really hard and will take a long time," said Ben- nett. "Policies alone don't solve the problem. You need to work continuously on this." Confidentiality is critical, es- pecially at smaller organizations, and companies should introduce a range of formal and informal options for reporting, she said. Workers need to be comfortable coming forward and should be required to share their stories a minimum amount of times. Ex- pertise, experience, neutrality and confidentiality should all be top-of-mind. As for employee training, em- ployers need to realize they do not have the expertise in this field. Hiring trained facilitators should be a priority, said Bennett. "It can't simply be a checklist," she said. "Your training pro- gram needs to be complement- ed with activities, toolkits and discussions." Companies can be lulled into a "false consciousness" due to a lack of formal complaints, said Rubin. "Organizations, it seems to me, have too much confidence in peo- ple's willingness to come forward and make a complaint," she said. "Just because you're not hearing about it, it doesn't mean it's not there." More thoughtfulness and care should be put into the policies and processes surrounding this is- sue, including the creation of safe spaces where employees can talk in confidentiality to non-biased investigators, without fear of re- prisal, she said. As for the RCMP, the crisis re- veals several major issues at the heart of its structure, said Merlo. A lack of accountability in inter- nal investigations, paramilitary rank structure, decades of weak leadership and a lack of collective bargaining have led to systemic is- sues that will be hard to remedy. "This is a generational thing that will take a long time to flush out," she said. "(But) if those things can be addressed, then hopefully the force will begin to change." In the meantime, Merlo has re- turned to Newfoundland, where she continues to suffer from anxi- ety attacks and nightmares. "No amount of money can ever begin to make up for the things that we have lost," she said. "I am, however, truly honoured to be the one who could represent the women in this lawsuit and bring about a change for those who come behind me." Confidentiality critical HARASSMENT < pg. 1 "Policies alone don't solve the problem. You need to work continuously on this." Credit: Paul McKinnon (Shutterstock) Nearly 1,000 female RCMP officers were awarded $100 million and an apology from the force after filing a class-action lawsuit in 2012. Sexual harassment remains a major issue in Canadian workplaces, according to an expert panel.

• Cover